Trump orders 3M to meet FEMA’s mask needs

President Donald Trump has ordered Minnesota-based 3M to produce and sell as many medical-grade masks as the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it needs.

Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in an effort to speed up the distribution of desperately needed hospital masks.

In a tweet Thursday, Trump said, "We hit 3M hard today."

We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. “P Act” all the way. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing – will have a big price to pay!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2020

In a statement responding to the order, 3M said, "We look forward to working closely with the Administration to implement yesterday’s DPA order. We will continue to maximize the amount of respirators we can produce on behalf of U.S. healthcare workers, as we have every single day since this crisis began."

3M CEO Mike Roman said earlier this week that the company is working closely with FEMA and is on track to double global production of N95 masks to 2 billion a year in 12 months.

Roman said 3M will boost production by 40% to 50 million masks per month in about 60 days.

3M producing 35 million N95 respirators per month in US, 100 million worldwide

Medical professionals need the N95 masks because they filter out at least 95% of micro particulates and give doctors and nurses the best chance against the coronavirus.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.